GARDINER — After a fight that lasted the entire school year, a split Gardiner-area school board narrowly voted Thursday night 6-5-1 to approve the proposal for the school-based health center.

The proposal before Maine School Administrative District 11 has divided the community and the board for nearly the entire school year — and the meeting was no exception, becoming among the most hostile meeting the board held all year. 

Audience and board members on both sides of the argument were reprimanded for their behavior following public outbursts, display of handmade signs with profanity, arguments over procedure and threats of lawsuits.

The board recessed four times to de-escalate the behavior in the room, and one person was escorted out by Gardiner police. Then, Vice Chair Tony Viet, filling in for Chairperson Becky Fles, asked an audience member to leave. 

After the health center was approved by the board, board member Michelle Tucker said that she will bring a motion at the next board meeting in August to reverse the decision. 

“Don’t worry, I will move to rescind it in another month,” Tucker said after the vote. 

A school-based health center provides health care similar to what a child, or adult would receive at a primary care physician, but it’s located inside the school. It can provide immunizations, sports physicals, general primary and preventive care, care for illnesses, mental health counseling, and in some centers, dentistry is available. Maine has at least 16 school-based health centers across the state.

Thursday’s vote followed a 45-minute-long executive session where the board consulted the school attorney over the proposed memorandum of agreement with HealthReach, the nonprofit that will run the center. The board asked HealthReach to provide the document as a contractual agreement and the process took 12 weeks, Superintendent Pat Hopkins said at last week’s board meeting.

Because of delays, the health center is expected to open at Gardiner Area High School for the September 2026 school year rather than the upcoming school year.

Board votes in MSAD 11 are weighted by the town the board members represent and the 6-5-1 vote resulted in a weighted vote of 6,806-5,657-1,149.

Gardiner representatives Fles, Viet, Joanne O’Brien and Meaghan Carlson, along with Linda Caputo of Pittston and Elissa Tracey of Randolph voted in favor of approval; Tucker of Gardiner, Barry Manning of Randolph, Sean Focht and Janelle McKinnon of West Gardiner and Jeff Hanley of Pittston voted against.

Molly Rogers of West Gardiner abstained from voting, saying she did not have enough information to make a decision at the time of the vote, but board members argued that the board has floated the idea of the center around all year. 

“It’s been a long year without productive conversation,” Rogers said, adding that although its been on the agenda throughout the school year, the board has not had a logistical conversation. “This was a first offer. Is this our best offer? We haven’t considered any other providers or options.”

Carlson and Tracey disagreed with Rogers, pointing out that a community forum was held and ample opportunity for the public to weigh in at board meetings. Tucker agreed with Rogers and said that because the forum was not sponsored by the school district, but by HealthReach, parents might not have realized what it was. Rogers suggested a public forum or an opt-out form for parents to sign if they do not want their children participating in the clinic.

The school-based health center has attracted the attention of people outside the school district, and gained traction from conservative right-of-center influencers on the social media platform X who allege that the clinic will provide gender-affirming care and other health care without parent’s consent. 

At the meeting, Tucker asked the HealthReach representatives if the clinic would provide gender-affirming care, as well as birth control for students, to which the representative said that they would not provide hormonal care for gender transitions, but would provide counseling for students, if needed. 

The clinic has confirmed it will follow Maine law that allows minors who are at least 16  to receive care relating to reproductive health, mental health, or prescribing medicine, just as doctors in private practice must do. In response to Tucker’s question, HealthReach said that preventive care can include birth control.

Those in favor of the clinic see the clinic as a way to provide free or accessible health care to students and teachers in a rural area.

“I would like to think that my child would never have the need to use a school-based health center, that is the dream, ideal world,” Caputo, the Pittston board member, said. “Unfortunately, many students don’t live in that dream, ideal world.”